ODESSA - Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Odessa cost about 15 percent
cost less in August than during the same month of 2014, reflecting a continuing
drop amid the oil and gas downturn after years of tight apartment housing and
rising costs.

In August, an average one-bedroom in Odessa cost $850 per month, while a
similar apartment in Midland cost $920, or a year-over-year decline of about 17
percent, according to the San-Francisco based analytics firm Apartment List.

For a two-bedroom, renters’ rates declined more than 12 percent in Odessa and
nearly 14 percent in Midland.

The rent decreases, which experts say are driven by an uptick in vacancies,
are welcome news to renters whose incomes did not rise with the surge of oil and
gas activity in recent years.

The Permian Basin Apartment Association reports an occupancy rate of 92
percent in Odessa and of 86 percent in Midland, compared to near-full rates a
year ago.

In response to the rising vacancies, apartment managers are offering move-in
deals such as a month-worth of free rent on a year lease, allowing renters to
renegotiate leases mid-term in an effort to encourage them to stay and waiving
the administrative fees commonly charged for processing applicants’ paperwork,
which often amounts to about $75.